PR Card request while traveling in and out of Canada

[Curious_Man]

Would personally not reply until you have left and entered Canada and hope everything goes well. Nothing is going to get done by next week because it is a long weekend and it usually takes weeks before anyone reads the responses. If you indicate that you are out of Canada you may then be processed as if you are outside Canada for your landing. They may have changed the process and instead of sending you virtual landing (and sometimes confirming you are in Canada first) you may now need to confirm that you are in Canada before you are a full PR in the system and your ETA gets cancelled. It is hard to know. Your timing is very unfortunate but not very common and virtual landings are relatively new.

Agree, I think I'm in a very unique boat here. I'll probably end up doing what you advised. As according to this:

I have a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR) and will travel to Canada. Do I need an eTA? (cic.gc.ca)

"No. If you are from a visa-exempt country and have a Confirmation of Permanent Residence document, you don’t need an eTA. However, if you haven’t received this document before your planned travel to Canada, you will need to apply for an eTA."

According to this it should be fine, though the last paragraph on this page does contradict the first one... Wish they would pick up the phone...!

In any case bottom line is this can't mess with the PR approval at this point, right? It's just an inconvenience for me in terms of getting back and/or being stuck out of Canada until it's resolved? Worst case I fly to the USA and drive over.

 

[Ponga]

Are you a US citizen? You need a PR card not a COPR to fly back unless you are a US citizen. The system should cancel any ETA under your name although the system isn’t perfect. You also should come up as a PR in the system which would require a PR card or PRTD to fly. Even if your ETA isn’t cancelled you should appear as a PR which would mean the airline would want you to show a PR card or PRTD.

Do you think that still applies for a U.S. citizen that is also a PR? I keep getting mixed messages about this, since IRCC says that all PRs need a valid passport and a valid PR card to return to Canada via a commercial carrier; Air Canada's website says the same thing, but perhaps that's because they can't be bothered to add (`unless you are a U.S. citizen'...).

 

[Ponga]

According to this it should be fine, though the last paragraph on this page does contradict the first one... Wish they would pick up the phone...!

Even if you manage to `hit the jackpot' and actually speak to a human, it's still a roll of the dice; no idea if you will get an accurate answer from the `phone room' support humans. IMHO, there should be an elevated level of support for callers that have an elevated question...especially in cases like this.

 

[canuck78]

Agree, I think I'm in a very unique boat here. I'll probably end up doing what you advised. As according to this:

I have a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR) and will travel to Canada. Do I need an eTA? (cic.gc.ca)

"No. If you are from a visa-exempt country and have a Confirmation of Permanent Residence document, you don’t need an eTA. However, if you haven’t received this document before your planned travel to Canada, you will need to apply for an eTA."

According to this it should be fine, though the last paragraph on this page does contradict the first one... Wish they would pick up the phone...!

In any case bottom line is this can't mess with the PR approval at this point, right? It's just an inconvenience for me in terms of getting back and/or being stuck out of Canada until it's resolved? Worst case I fly to the USA and drive over.

Actually it really depends on whether your email is considered a COPR or a virtual landing document. The Q&A was posted before virtual landings existed so the answer is true for people who have a paper COPR and will only land once they reach Canadian soil. Unfortunately even if you reach the IRCC phone line they often give out incorrect info because they are just customer service agents and there is a lot of turnover. I would actually call CBSA at the airport. They would likely have a better answer. No issue with your PR approval. You will get your PR.

 

[canuck78]

Do you think that still applies for a U.S. citizen that is also a PR? I keep getting mixed messages about this, since IRCC says that all PRs need a valid passport and a valid PR card to return to Canada via a commercial carrier; Air Canada's website says the same thing, but perhaps that's because they can't be bothered to add (`unless you are a U.S. citizen'...).

US citizens are able to travel on their own passports even if they are PRs. Some airlines and airports do not realize this so there can sometimes be problems. Sure airlines prefer if people travel with their PR cards.

 

[Ponga]

US citizens are able to travel on their own passports even if they are PRs. Some airlines and airports do not realize this so there can sometimes be problems. Sure airlines prefer if people travel with their PR cards.

Apparently, there is some sort of bilateral agreement regarding air travel between U.S. and Canada, but I have yet to find it. Still...all it takes is a an airline employee at the departure airport thinking they know everything and not being able to elevate it to a superior...especially if they are the superior that day.

 

[Curious_Man]

Apparently, there is some sort of bilateral agreement regarding air travel between U.S. and Canada, but I have yet to find it. Still...all it takes is a an airline employee at the departure airport thinking they know everything and not being able to elevate it to a superior...especially if they are the superior that day.

Ground crews are the worst. I travel all the time, and the complete lack of consistency in enforcing these rules is shocking. No airline ever asked me for my eta number and earlier this year in Phoenix someone almost refused me boarding at the gate because I couldn't find my original email confirming my eta number from years ago.

Other times some pesky weirdo will start questioning everyone at the gate for your reason for visiting Canada, asking for marriage certificates etc. in a non-official status - when I get to the border in Canada it's always a breeze. Some people are just dying to seem important.

 

[canuck78]

Ground crews are the worst. I travel all the time, and the complete lack of consistency in enforcing these rules is shocking. No airline ever asked me for my eta number and earlier this year in Phoenix someone almost refused me boarding at the gate because I couldn't find my original email confirming my eta number from years ago.

Other times some pesky weirdo will start questioning everyone at the gate for your reason for visiting Canada, asking for marriage certificates etc. in a non-official status - when I get to the border in Canada it's always a breeze. Some people are just dying to seem important.

The airline is responsible for your return travel and I can only imagine that the staff that let you board may be spoken to about who they let someone board if they were refused entry. I can imagine that’s why some are strict about proof before letting people board. It is frustrating that there is a lack of consistency between employees and airlines. I can only imagine that the employees have to deal with many challenging people especially these days where people seem to have no manners and lots of entitlement. We are travelling on NorthAmerican and European passports so no matter what we have likely not faced a lot of hassle when it comes to flying. Even with my Canadian passport I have faced being almost stripped searched in a country with one of the most strict security systems in the world due to my irregular travel patterns. I was treated much nicer than other passengers though.

 

[armoured]

Think this confirms that this is your virtual landing letter

https://go4visa.com/2021/09/02/confirming-your-permanent-residence-online-pr-virtual-landing-in-canada/

Matches word for word... Thanks Canuck! So I guess this means I'm a "deemed" PR and I wouldn't be able to get back without a CoPR document (which I won't have until I confirm the PR or a PR card) - correct?

I'm a dual citizen and they issued the CoPR number with the passport that I haven't been using to enter Canada so I don't think they cancelled my eTA in my other passport.

I do not see anything on that page that says one is already a PR or a 'deemed' PR.

What I see in there confirms to what I referred to: this email (repeat, I believe) asks you to confirm you are in Canada (because - implication is - if you are not in Canada they cannot complete a virtual landing).

If someone disagrees, please show me in this correspondence where it says you ARE ALREADY a PR. I do not see that.

So I would think the right approach is to not respond right away, do so when you get back, and then they will do the virutal landing.

But I'm not certain. Confirm with IRCC or through your MP.

 

[canuck78]

I do not see anything on that page that says one is already a PR or a 'deemed' PR.

What I see in there confirms to what I referred to: this email (repeat, I believe) asks you to confirm you are in Canada (because - implication is - if you are not in Canada they cannot complete a virtual landing).

If someone disagrees, please show me in this correspondence where it says you ARE ALREADY a PR. I do not see that.

So I would think the right approach is to not respond right away, do so when you get back, and then they will do the virutal landing.

But I'm not certain. Confirm with IRCC or through your MP.

We have no idea how the virtual landing system works and have never seen a case like this. We don’t know if the approval has been confirmed but not processed until address has been confirmed. The origin landing process the email meant that you had landed and you may receive a confirmation of your location before the virtual landing email or no confirmation at all. They may have now added the location verification after the email and the email no longer lead to full approval in their computer system which is why I suggested that they travel and hope for the best and only reply to the email once they have returned to Canada.

 

[armoured]

We have no idea how the virtual landing system works and have never seen a case like this. We don’t know if the approval has been confirmed but not processed until address has been confirmed. The origin landing process the email meant that you had landed and you may receive a confirmation of your location before the virtual landing email or no confirmation at all. They may have now added the location verification after the email and the email no longer lead to full approval in their computer system which is why I suggested that they travel and hope for the best and only reply to the email once they have returned to Canada.

To me this looks like the normal virtual landing process, which is not complete yet at this stage, as the email seems to confirm. If so, not yet a PR.

I also cannot say for certain, but i see nothing to indicate government has said op is a PR, nor the ecopr.

But also I've not seen all the correspondence in this case and the procédures do have some inconsistencies .

 

[Curious_Man]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to thank you all again for weighing in, and to drop a follow-up on this. I'm back in Canada and everything was seamless. I checked my eta before I left and while I was away - it's still active. There were no questions at the border, came straight through. Have now responded to their email so fingers crossed I'll manage to get a PR card soon, it seems like it still maybe a couple of months.

 

[armoured]

Hey everyone! Just wanted to thank you all again for weighing in, and to drop a follow-up on this. I'm back in Canada and everything was seamless. I checked my eta before I left and while I was away - it's still active. There were no questions at the border, came straight through. Have now responded to their email so fingers crossed I'll manage to get a PR card soon, it seems like it still maybe a couple of months.

Please advise what steps come up, because what remains a bit unclear is whether what you got was 'we want to virtually land you' or 'you are a PR now.'